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Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll: AAP's Sushil Rinku wins, massive setback for Congress
Sushil Kumar Rinku recorded a landslide victory by winning the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll with a margin of 58,691 votes.
Aam Aadmi Party candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku recorded a landslide victory by winning the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll with a margin of 58,691 votes after he polled 3,02,279 votes on Saturday.
Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary was in the second spot with 2,43,588 votes, while the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party candidate polled 1,58,445 votes and remained third.
The Bharatiya Janta Party candidate Inder Iqbal Singh secured 1,34,800 votes in the quadrangular electoral battle. Atwal also lost his security deposit.
Wielding brooms in their hands, members of local unit of the AAP were seen bursting crackers and distributing sweets. The counting began at 8am on Saturday morning.
"Congress has not done anything here. Rinku has won the hearts of people while being in power. We had confidence in our victory. We know his ability in politics. He will surely win," a party leader said.
The defeat is a huge setback for the Congress as Jalandhar has been its bastion not just in Punjab but across the country. It had remained undefeated from the seat since 1999.
A tight security arrangement had been put in place in and around the counting centres set up at the office of the Director Land Records and Sports College Complex in Kapurthala Road.
The Jalandhar bypolls were held on May 10 and recorded a voter turnout of 54.70 per cent, well below the 63.04 per cent recorded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The bye-lection for Jalandhar Lok Sabha, one of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab, was warranted after sitting MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary of Congress passed away on January 14 following a cardiac arrest while taking part in the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
